Monsters in the Basement, Bats in the Belfy
by GeekFiend
Summary: Bruce Wayne is caught up in a conflict in Arkham with some new and old foes.  Rated of occasional language.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Bat in the Belfry**

The masked vigilante's world had been turned upside down. They'd caught him. They'd finally caught him, and then, what was worse, he was in the last place on earth he'd wanted to end up, Arkham Asylum.

Bruce wore the same orange outfit all the other inmates wore. He was placed in the room in the topmost level of the old house, just above the room where the Croc's tank once was. It had broken open recently, flooding the lower levels, causing immense water-damage. It was a wonder the place was still standing, but after all the mess had been moped up there was hardly a sign of the incident.

So Bruce was in one of the drabbest rooms he'd ever seen, let alone inhabited. The white walls were bare and their paint peeled off in ribbons. The only furnishings in the small room were a grubby toilet, a grime-filled sink with a rusty tap, and a small uncomfortable-looking lumpy cot in one corner. Bruce had never missed the mansion so much in his life as he did then, but he knew it would be quite a while before he saw his home again.

Around three in the afternoon the inmates were allowed to use the rec yard. Bruce wasn't looking forward to entering a yard full of psychotic wrong-doers, especially running into anyone he'd put in that hellhole personally. Bruce sighed and reminded himself he'd meet other inmates face-to-face eventually, and today might as well be the day.

(MB,BB)

At three a guard came to take Bruce down to the yard to stretch his legs.

"Come on, Bat Boy. Time for some fresh air." The guard opened the metal of the cell with a creak and motioned for Bruce to get up and get out.

Bruce stood up from where he'd been sitting on the corner of the cot. "Thank you, sir," Bruce said, remembering his manners despite his situation.

Bruce followed the guard, whose name tag read "Anderson," down flights of stairs. Anderson took them in stride, as he'd taken the stairs for many years by then. Bruce, of course, could keep up with the guard, but the stairs were still something to get used to. The stairs on the upper levels were winding, and Bruce couldn't remember going up and down stairs so many times in his life before he arrived at Arkham.

They reached the courtyard in what felt like an hour, though it was more or less only five minutes. Bruce looked around the yard, which was surrounded by fences with barbed wire, and saw only half as many inmates as he'd expected. Then he realized that some residents weren't let outside for one reason or another.

Bruce sat down on a wooden bench near the closest fence and watched some inmates he didn't recognize playing basketball. He knew eventually that someone who knew him would show up.

"Hey there, Batman." Crane sat down on the bench next to Bruce.

"Dr. Crane." Bruce nodded to him.

"Never though I'd see the day when you'd join us." Crane smiled. "Are you liking your stay?"

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be," Bruce replied.

"Oh, it gets worse at night," Crane said casually. "All the real crazies are let loose in the halls. The monster in the basement is let out for a while. They only let him out at night when everyone's safe in their rooms. Sometimes he looks in at you. He always gives me the creeps."

"The Joker?" Bruce asked, confused.

"The Joker? Ha!" Crane grinned. "He wishes he was that creepy. Believe it or not, Batman, there are much crazier people in this world than the Joker."

"Hmm." Bruce was lost in thought. If this "monster" wasn't the Joker, than who was he?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Monster**

Armand sat on the floor and watched the little spiders dance around their tiny fire. He watched them bringing the tiny logs for the fire up through a hole in the floor. He knew there must be a tiny forest somewhere down the hole, where trees grew and spiders lived. He looked down the hole for what must have been the thousandth time. Nothing in sight, too dark. When he looked up again, the spiders and their fire were gone.

'Damn. They got away again!'

"Come on out, boy." A guard opened the door, going behind it as it swung out open to protect himself from the inmate inside the basement cell. "You're burning moonlight."

"Moonlight isn't tangible." Armand eyed the guard warily. "How can I burn it?"

"Just get out." The guard stayed well behind the door as Armand stepped out into the hallway.

"Where'd the kitty go?" Armand crossed to the garage door and peeked in, calling to the animal. "Here kitty!"

The cat never came to Armand. It always his from him when it saw him. Armand shrugged when the cat didn't come and shut the door. He headed to the stairs. The guard didn't come out until he was sure Armand was gone.

(MB,BB)

In the main hall, Armand stared up at the clock high on the wall.

"Stupid mouse." He grinned.

"You're not as out of the loop as they think you are, huh?" The voice of the Joker echoed through the hall.

Armand turned and faced the older man. He wasn't wearing his usual make-up, but Armand recognized him at once. His eyes grew wide.

"You're that circus clown!" Armand screamed and pointed his middle finger at the Joker out of habit of using it. "You don't have your face all painted, but you're that clown!"

"Actually, I'm more of a joker." The Joker moved towards Armand.

"I don't care!" Armand could see the clown. He wasn't right. He was wrong. He didn't belong, and that would not do. "You're a fucking clown!"

"What's your problem with clowns anyway?" The Joker eyed Armand. "You flip out every time you see one, don't you?"

"Go away." Armand watched the clown get closer. He wanted to ruin everything, everything Armand had worked so hard to fix. He had to go. _Get lost, before you ruin everything. _

Since Armand was a child, he'd never liked clowns. He never liked a lot of things. To counter these things, another one was created, one that wouldn't take shit from anyone and protect Armand from all the things he hated, like clowns.

Biyaka was the one that took no shit, but eventually, he was noticed. Armand's mother sent him to Arkham and he stayed there for years. Alone in the dark with himself, Armand's once protector became his sole tormentor. The doctors helped him like they said they would. Biyaka, his tormentor, was silenced.

When Armand was alone, he could be Armand. There was nothing around to bother him. But now there was someone. Someone who wasn't a doctor or a nurse, who instilled a new fear in Armand from the first time they'd met.

When Armand first saw the Joker, he was making an escape some night not long after Biyaka was silenced. Armand felt Biyaka stir in his slumber down in the bowls of Armand's soul. He didn't like it, not at all. He swore he would do something if he saw the clown again. He would do anything to keep his tormentor at bay. It was better for everyone that Biyaka stay hidden away. There was a reason he was called a monster. They thought Armand was the bad one. They didn't know Biyaka.

"Get lost." Armand gritted his teeth as the clown walked past him.

"Fine. As you wish, monster boy." The Joker left him alone in the hall, laughing at his own joke.

Then some guards rushed in. They halted in their tracks when they saw Armand.

"The clown went that way." Armand turned away from the guards and pointed. He put his hand down and headed for the stairs.

"What kind of moron laughs at their own jokes?" Armand asked the air. "Or was he laughing at me? Damn, I hate clowns."

(MB,BB)

Bruce awoke in the in the early hours of the morning to see a pair of big dark eyes staring at him through the slot in his door.

"Who are you?" Bruce got up from his cot and looked through the slot at the young man on the other side. His skin was pale from lack of sun and he had long black hair. His dark eyes reflected the dim light of the single bulb in the hall.

"Are you that bat guy they talk about?" The man on the other side of the door looked interested in Bruce.

"Who are you?" Bruce asked again.

"Patient EL-0012, please return to level B2. Return to level B2 immediately." The PA system sounded loudly. They could hear other inmates complaining from the lower floors.

"I gotta go." The young man disappeared down the stairs.

Bruce frowned. Who was that guy?

(MB,BB)

Armand had to get back in his cell by four am. The consequences for being late were serious. He thought about the scars on his back. He didn't want to be late, not again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Can't Sleep, The Clowns Will Eat Me**

Armand sat in the corner of his cell, clutching his copy of _Abarat_ in his hands. He kept trying to read it. It was the part when the girl had to fight a robotic bug and he liked to imagine the battle. But he couldn't stop glancing over to the door, expecting the she-clown's eyes to come into the slot.

She'd snuck down into the basement a few times to grin at Armand after learning of his caulrophobia, probably from the Joker.

He saw her there once when he tried to sleep one day. Since then he hadn't slept in three days, awaiting her eyes again. He didn't dare sleep knowing there were at least two clowns in that hellhole that knew he was scared.

He put the book down and stared up at the ceiling. "I wonder what the bat guy does all day? Does he know about the clowns too?"

(MB,BB)

Bruce sat in his room and looked down at the book he'd borrowed from the asylum's library. It was a battered old copy of _Alice in Wonderland_. He knew it wasn't the sort of thing he usually read, but it reminded him of happier times, before Arkham, before Batman.

When he read a familiar part about the famous jabberwock, he was reminded of the unseen monster, the one that supposedly came out at night and stalked the halls of the old asylum. Bruce wondered if the person he'd seen last night was the monster or just another patient who'd gotten loose.

He turned through the pages until he found a picture of Alice fighting the jabberwock. Somehow, he doubted the monster of Arkham looked anything like the fictional beast.

(MB,BB)

"I wonder how that guy is a bat anyway," Armand asked aloud. "Maybe he can turn into a bat?"

Armand had no fear of bats in general. He was sure that tiny little bat couldn't do him any real harm. Even the famous vampire bat didn't scare him. He'd read a lot about bats and he knew the flying blood-drinkers were nothing like their undead relatives. The only bat that had ever bothered Armand was ManBat, a giant bat-human mutant that was kept in a cell in the upper levels of Arkham, and he bothered a lot of people. But even that bat didn't instill much fear in the young man. He was convinced that as long as it stayed in its cage, it posed no real threat to him.

The clowns were different though. They could easily leave their cages.

As the clowns danced through his mind, a little voice spoke up, 'You could kill them.'

"No!" Armand clasped his hands over his ears. "No, Biyaka, we can't! They're clowns, but they're people! Killing is wrong!"

Biyaka didn't speak again.

Armand put his hands down and looked around his cell. He was still there. Biyaka hadn't taken over. He didn't go to the dark place. Armand looked up at the single light bulb that lit his cell, glad for the light. He hated the dark. The dark meant bad things were happening.

"How the hell is that guy a bat?" Armand yelled at the spider on the wall. "Do you know how, sister?"

"Don't ask me," the spider replied. "If you don't know, I don't know."

"You're right." Armand gave the spider a smile. "How goes the knitting, sister?"

"Oh fine, dear." The spider crawled up the wall. "But I'm afraid I have to go now. I think I left the stove on."

"Bye sister." Armand replied. "Don't let the fire eat your cupcakes like last time."

Armand stared up at the ceiling. "Do light bulbs eat cupcakes too? Do bats eat cupcakes? Stop lying to me! I know they can if they want to!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Killer Gets Out **

Probably the only patient in Arkham that was more dangerous and more feared than Biyaka was Agarwaen, whose pale scarred flesh and hair were permanently stained with his own blood. He was strapped to the wall at all times and locked away, because no one wanted to go near him. He'd burned down his childhood home with his mother inside, and the last time he got free, he killed almost every guard on the third floor with his bare hands. The other inmates knew he existed, but never spoke of him for he was some sort of boogieman and to speak of him was taboo. Like Candlejack. The worst of the worst.

But to the Joker, he was the perfect chaos generator.

**2 am**

"Wakey wakey, sweetheart." The new guard opened the door to Agarwaen's cell, feeling confident the bastard was asleep. "Time for some fun."

The new guard, known as Drew to his new coworkers, was said to be one of the toughest security officers out there. He'd already worked at plenty of places like Arkham, but he'd been transferred to the hellhole after an incident involving a patient. Drew considered himself to be a pretty good guard, one of the best, he thought. And because he thought so highly of himself, the other security guards at Arkham were all too happy to put him in charge of their baddest baddie.

Now that Agarwaen was his sole responsibility, he was free to deal with the maniac killer as he wanted, so he decided to mess around with the kid awhile. He thought it would be fun to show the kid he was the top dog and wouldn't stand for any childish crap from Agarwaen, who was his junior by about 15 years.

As light from the hallway fell on the pale figure on the wall of the cell, wide dark eyes opened and looked down at Drew as he stepped in. Agarwaen was so sedated, he hardly acknowledged the guard. Only the killer's dark eyes lighted on Drew.

"Hello sweetheart." Drew looked up at the young man strapped to the wall. "Ready for a little fun?"

Drew unlocked the padlocks of the straps holding Agarwaen up on the wall. He unwrapped Agarwaen's limp body and let him fall to the floor. For too long, Agarwaen had been routinely sedated, so his over-medicated body couldn't move with all the drugs in his system. Drew knelt over Agarwaen and flipped him over onto his back. The guard began to pull down Agarwaen's pants.

"This is going to be fun," Drew whispered in Agarwaen's ear. He pulled down Agarwaen's underwear and began to unzip his own pants.

(MB,BB)

Armand wandered up to the third floor. He liked that floor best because the view of the city from the windows was spectacular. He leaned forward to get his face as close to the cold glass as possible. He liked to imagine what was inside the buildings across the water. He wondered what the people's offices looked like, what their homes looked like, what the people themselves looked like, the people who were free and never had to set foot in that hellhole.

Suddenly, there was a crash and Armand quickly moved away from the window. Things that made noise at night usually meant trouble. He hid around the corner just in time to see the Joker pass through the corridor he was just in.

'What's that clown up to?' Armand thought.

He watched the Joker move off down the hall towards the place the guards tried to avoid. Armand wasn't sure if he should follow the clown or not, then he decided 'what the hell?' and followed quietly after the villain.

(MB,BB)

Agarwaen clenched his teeth as the guard thrust in and out of his body. It wasn't his most painful experience, but it was certainly enraging him. Not being able to stop the burly guard from taking his virginity made him feel great contempt for himself, which was almost stronger than the hatred he was feeling towards the guard as he continued the ghastly deed. Agarwaen was just beginning to wonder if he deserved it when there was a sharp _thunk_ and the guard fell unconscious onto his victim. Agarwaen looked up and saw the Joker looking down at him.

"Not the way I expected to find you, Aggy." The Joker clicked his tongue at the younger man.

The Joker had swiped the club from Drew's belt and hit him over the head with it. Now the clown pulled the guard off of Agarwaen and threw the other inmate's pants at him.

"Put on your goddamn pants and follow me."

Agarwaen, though he was still weak, did as he was told by his savior, but before leaving the room, he crawled over to the guard who was out cold on the floor and straddled him. He leaned over the bastard's face and gave him a bloody smile. He drove his thumbs into the guard's eye sockets, digging at the eyeballs inside until he managed to get the squashed organs out into his hands. The Joker watched in amusement as Agarwaen forced open the guard's mouth and shoved the eyes inside.

"You're a sick one." The Joker grinned before he took Agarwaen by the arm and dragged him from the room. "When I saw you with that guard, I thought you were a softy, but you're as perfect as they said you were."

(MB,BB)

Armand watched the Joker drag the killer from his room. This was bad news, really bad news. Armand knew of what Agarwaen had done and he knew it would happen again with the killer free.

Agarwaen licked his fingers and turned his eyes in Armand's direction, causing a shiver to run down Armand's spine as he quickly ran from the floor. Armand had to do something quickly, but he didn't want to tell a guard, because they wouldn't believe him. They never did. Maybe the bat guy would listen. He was a good guy, right?

Armand ran up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, nearly tripping for it. He reached the top floor and hammered on the door with both fists.

"What in the-" He heard the bat guy wake up inside. "Who is it?"

"It's me! I have to tell you something! You're a good guy, right?"

Bruce went up to the slot in the door and looked through it at Armand. "Yeah. What it it?" He recognized the young man from before.

"The clown let the killer out!"

"The clown?" Bruce asked. "The Joker or Harley?"

"The first one," Armand replied frantically. "He let the killer out!"

"Who's the killer?" Bruce knew of many killers. The Joker was one of them.

"Agarwaen!" Armand hissed with anxiety. "He kills people and now he's free!We're in big trouble!"

"Why are you telling this to me?" Bruce frowned. "Why not tell a guard?"

"I'm insane, remember?" Armand was screaming in frustration. "They won't listen to me!"

"Well, what do you want me to do about it while I'm trapped in here?"

"Use your powers to get out and stop the clowns and the killer!" Armand shouted. "Bat powers! Turn into a bat!"

Suddenly Armand screamed and ran away down the stairs.

Bruce could tell Armand was severely insane, but he wasn't like a criminal. He seemed more like a scared child lost in a nightmare of his own creation, doing all he could to make it just a little better. Bruce could tell Armand was serious about the Joker and the Agarwaen person. So he decided to take what Armand said into account and figure out what to do next.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The Joker's Plans of Chaos**

"Your legs better start working or I'll _un-save _you!" the Joker growled.

"Fine, let me go. I'll crawl," Agarwaen hissed at the clown.

The Joker knew that the guards in the place would soon realize that he and the little brat were out of their cells and would come looking for them. But the Joker wasn't going worried. He knew every nook and cranny of the asylum after spending so much time in the place, so he knew of many places the guards wouldn't look. He knew the guards couldn't find them unless they wanted to be found.

They approached a disused storage room in the basement. The room was full of forgotten items and cobwebs. Harley was there waiting for them.

"So this is the famous Agarwaen." She grinned at him as the Joker closed the door behind them. "He doesn't look like much."

"He's drugged up," the Joker grumbled. "He can't do shit as he is."

Agarwaen pulled himself onto a box to get off his legs. "Two clowns?"

"A guard was fucking the hell out of him." The Joker spoke to Harley as if Agarwaen hadn't spoken.

"He's completely useless." Both clowns laughed.

Agarwaen began to grind his teeth together. He swore he'd get them back for treating him that way. They'd see what he could do.

"Anyway, we need him." The Joker finally stopped laughing.

"For what, sweetie?" Harley asked.

"He's going to cause a distraction while I go after Bats," the Joker explained. "This one's a beast when he wants to be."

"When he's not drugged up?" Harley smirked.

"Exactly what I mean." The Joker grinned.

(MB,BB)

"Where the hell did the river go?" Armand was rooting through one of the many storage rooms in the basement. "If I don't get the river, I'll burn up! Where'd the bat guy go?"

Armand stood and looked around for a second. He couldn't tell where the fire was anymore, but he could hear noises from out in the hall.

"Bat guy?" Armand called out. "Sister? Is the fire there? How are you not burned up yet? Am I still alive?"

"I think so." The door creaked open and Armand could see an eye through the crack. The voice sounded as unsure as his own. He didn't know who it was.

"Who are you?" Armand asked the stranger. "Are you really there?"

"I think I am." The dark eye blinked at him. "Who are you?"

"I'm Armand." He walked over to the door and looked at the eye of the stranger. "Who are you?"

"Agarwaen." The other man was as neutral as ever. "Can I come in? Apparently there's a fire out here."

"Okay." Armand let the killer in.

Agarwaen entered the room on unsteady legs. He motioned for Armand to sit on the floor, which he did tentatively. Agarwaen sat across from him.

"So are we safe from the fire in here?" Agarwaen asked.

"I think so." Armand wasn't sure exactly what to say to Agarwaen. He didn't seem dangerous at the moment, but Armand knew better than to trust him.

"What are you doing out, anyway, dark one?" Agarwaen asked.

"I'm allowed out at night," Armand explained. "Why are you out?"

"The clowns need me for stuff," Agarwaen said casually.

"I don't like the clowns." Armand frowned. "Do you like them?"

"Nah. I can't stand them. They make fun of me." Agarwaen scooted closer to Armand, making him uneasy. "I guess we have something in common."

"But aren't you working the clowns." Armand leaned away from the killer before him.

"They only think I am." Agarwaen grinned. "I'm going to do what they ask until I don't want to anymore."

Armand smiled back politely. At least Agarwaen didn't like the clowns either. And he seemed a lot more honest than Armand had expected. Agarwaen scooted closer to Armand just then. Armand felt he should move, but he knew at this proximity, Agarwaen would notice. Agarwaen was in arm's length of him, Armand estimated. Not a position he ever wanted to be in.

"What are the clowns planning to do?" Armand asked. "Bad things?"

"They wanna get that Bats guy. The guy clown's obsessed with him," Agarwaen muttered. "I don't really care what they do. Do you know that Bats guy?"

"Yeah." Armand wasn't sure he should have told Agarwaen that after he'd said it, but it was too late.

Agarwaen's arms suddenly shot out and wrapped around Armand's neck. Agarwaen pulled him in so Armand was little more than an inch from him.

"Come with me and show me the Bats guy." Agarwaen stood up and turned Armand around. He kept one arm around his neck and put the other around his middle. "Come on, let's go."

(MB,BB)

Bruce turned Armand's words over in his head. The Joker had taken out a dangerous criminal, no doubt planning to use that criminal against him in some way. But Bruce couldn't figure out exactly how.

Just then there was a tapping on the door.

"Hey Bats!" The voice wasn't the one Bruce had expected. It was a new voice. "Come to the door, Bats!"

Bruce approached the slot in the door. He saw Armand's eyes looking very scared. Agarwaen still held Armand close to his body. The killer had bent forward, making Armand to bend forward, making Armand bend forward too.

"Help me," Armand whimpered.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Bruce demanded.

"I just came to tell you that the Joker's going to try to defeat you tomorrow night." Agarwaen looked through the slot at Bruce. "You're welcome."

Before Bruce could say anything else, Agarwaen stood up with Armand and they left the level, Agarwaen dragging his captive with him.

(MB,BB)

"And who might that be?" The Joker demanded as Agarwaen returned to the storage room.

"My new friend." Agarwaen sat down on a box, still holding onto Armand, making him sit on his lap.

"And what is he doing here?" Harley demanded, nearly imitation the Joker.

"He's mine, okay? I can have him here if I want," Agarwaen growled.

"Is that how you take hostages?" The Joker laughed. "You're going it wrong, you little bastard."

"I don't care," Agarwaen muttered. "I like him and he's staying with me."

Armand stared at the clowns in front of him. He'd never been in the same room with both of them at once and his blinding fear blocked out all the conversation they were having with the killer.

'You need help, Armand,' Biyaka whispered from the depths of his soul. 'I can help you. Get you free of him.'

'No!' Armand cried out in his mind. 'No, you can't! You ca-'

Biyaka took control and assessed the situation. He was being held on to by a stranger. He didn't like the contact. He swiftly hit Agarwaen in the face with the back of his hand.

"Fuck!" Agarwaen reached up to his face, letting go of Biyaka who stood up and faced the clowns.

Biyaka dived first at the Joker, grabbing the old man around the neck. They went down, fists flying and kicking of legs.

Harley tried to pull Biyaka off the Joker, but Agarwaen grabbed her by a pigtail and pulled her downward. He grabbed her head and slammed it into a wall, knocking her out.

The Joker hit Biyaka in the head, but he kept coming, hitting the Joker in the stomach. Agarwaen grabbed Biyaka around the waist and dragged him off of the Joker.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Agarwaen opened the door and dragged Biyaka from the room. "I don't want to play anymore! I'm done!"

Biyaka struggled with Agarwaen's grasp on him,but he wouldn't give in. Soon a guard heard the commotion and they were all rounded up.

Biyaka was put back in his cell and Agarwaen was strapped up to the wall again. The Joker and Harley were dealt with as well. They were back to square one.

'Bring it back to the start,' Agarwaen thought. 'Time warp. I do what I want, not what you want me to do.'

And all he thought of as the drugs put him to sleep again was Armand.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Dreamland**

Agarwaen could only call it an affection dream, because he'd never had a dream like it before. And he'd never felt for someone the way he felt for Armand. It wasn't necessarily love, because Agarwaen was sure he was incapable of loving someone, but it was certainly some sort of attraction that made Armand alluring. It was most likely the irony of the whole idea. Armand and Agarwaen were similar in a few ways, but were still somehow polar opposites.

'Opposites attract,' Agarwaen thought.

He intrigued him to the point of obsession. So Agarwaen dreamed of him.

_Agarwaen moved silently through moonlit woods until he spotted someone in a clearing. He made his way over to that someone to find it was Armand, sitting as he had in the storeroom when they'd met. Armand smiled up at Agarwaen, who sat down across from him. _

"_How are you here?" Agarwaen asked. "You're real, not imaginary."_

"_I don't know. You tell me," Armand replied._

"_Why are you here, then?" _Agarwaen reached out to touch Armand's hand to see if there was physicality in the dream. _Armand took his hand in his own. _There was physicality.

"_I'm here because you like me." _ Dream Armand was obviously just part of Agarwaen's mind, but Agarwaen didn't seem to care. He liked the company of even a fake Armand.

"_Okay. Then do you like me?" Agarwaen reached for Armand's other hand, which was ready to accept his. They grasped hands and just sat there. _

"_I'm not sure," Dream Armand replied._

_Agarwaen frowned._ That's right. He couldn't really have an affection dream about Armand unless he knew Armand shared that affection in the real world. He mauled it over as he looked into the eyes of Armand's doppelganger. They were dark like Armand's were, but held none of the life Armand's eyes really held. Agarwaen's affection dream was turning into a big disappointment. He had to get the real Armand on his side before he could feel anymore affection for him. He couldn't wait to wake up now.

(MB,BB)

"He doesn't look bad." Dr. Scott looked up at the sleeping form of Agarwaen on the wall.

"Well, this one's tough as nails," the guard next to the doctor explained. "I wouldn't expect an emotional breakdown from him."

"Even so, I certainly hope that guard is facing serious consequences for what he did to this one, despite what happened to his eyes," Dr. Scott said. "Let's leave him to sleep. When will he wake up?"

"Shouldn't be for a few hours." The guard and the doctor left the room, closing the door behind them as the cell returned to darkness.

(MB,BB)

Armand looked down into the depths of the water, glad he wasn't at the bottom again. In the mecca of Armand's mind world, as he called it, there was a very deep lake called the Bottomless Lake. Down in its depths was where Biyaka stayed when he was hidden away. Armand never liked it when Biyaka took control, because it sent him spiraling into the darkness of the deep lake. There was strange things in the water, the stuff of dreams and nightmares.

Armand had feared he'd fall into that lake again when he felt himself plummet through the air of the mind world and saw the lake coming up to meet him. He closed his eyes, waiting for the all too familiar splash and the sensation of the water on his skin. Instead, when no splash came, he opened his eyes to find he was seated by the side of the lake, rather than sinking into it like a stone in slow motion. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked down into the cold waters of the lake. A fish with a cat face swam just below the surface, which reflected his face back at him like a giant black mirror. He tore his eyes from the fish and instead looked around at the land that surrounded the lake. There were very few trees, but there was grass aplenty. It was a moonlit grassland with blooming wildflowers and humming insects. Birds sang in the grasses, announcing their presence to him. He stood up and turned to face all sides of that dream sight. He felt a cool breeze, saw wispy clouds cross the sky. Stars twinkled into life. It was nice there, Armand thought. Very nice, with its natural beauty.

But even as he breathed the sweet air, he felt as if a shadow hung over him. Biyaka was gone at that point, but he wouldn't be gone for good. Then Armand realized where Biyaka must be. He was in control. He had their body under his control. Armand grimaced at the thought, but soon sent it away as the spider-sister came over to him.

"Hello Sister!" Armand waved to the spider-nun as she approached him through the tall grass, her many arms holding her black dress so that it wouldn't snag on anything. "How goes the baking?"

"Fine, dear." The spider-sister smiled at him. "Just fine."

(MB,BB)

"So what exactly happened?" Dr. Scott sat across the table from the Joker.

"Well, your guard there was having his way with the drugged up little brat and I saved him." The Joker grinned as always. "I was feeling hero-like."

"And then you took him to a storeroom?" Dr. Scott asked quizzically.

"I wasn't gonna leave him there." The Joker made an innocent face at the doctor. "What kind of good citizen would do such a thing?"

"Hmm." Dr. Scott was unamused by the Joker's lying. "And why was Ms. Quinzel there too?"

"No idea." The Joker chuckled. "It was a total coincidence that we ran into each other."

"Of course it was," the doctor grumbled with sarcasm. He sighed and went on. "Yet another failed attempt at chaos, huh? Oh well. We're done here. You can return to your cell."

"Oh, of course, Doc." The Joker grinned at the doctor's frustration. He enjoyed bothering Dr. Scott. "I'll see ya later."

(MB,BB)

Biyaka pounded on his cell door with his bare feet.

"Let me out, you fuckers!" he screamed, hoping to wake up the entire asylum. "Let me out! You'll pay for this, Doctor Asshole! I'll kill you all! I'll fucking kill you fucks!"

The guard at the door was trying his best to ignore Biyaka's shouting, but when Biyaka yelled directly at him, he began to get unnerved.

"Hey! Guard Man! I wanna see Dr. Angela!" Biyaka peeked through the door's slot at the guard. "I'm talking to you, bitch!"

The guard could see the eyes that owned the voice through the slot. He didn't like them. "You can't see her. She's not here."

"Doctor! An-gah-lah! I want! To see! Her now!" Biyaka's hand shot out of the slot to grab at the guard who was just out of reach. "I'll kill you! Come here! I wanna talk to you!"

'No way in Hell am I getting any closer to this guy,' the guard thought.

Biyaka's hand slid back into the cell. He sat down on the floor and drove his sharp thumbnail into his arm until it bled. The guard became truly horrified when when Biyaka began to write bloody letters on the door's outside with a bloody hand that came through the slot. The hand went back in a few moments later and Biyaka was quiet. The guard took a step forward, wondering if Biyaka was all right. The bloody hands shot out again and grabbed the guard's neck, digging sharp fingernails into his flesh. The guard just managed to twist away, holding his neck, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Ha ha, asshole!" Biyaka laughed. "Got 'cha!"

(MB,BB)

Bruce could hear the screaming faintly from the basement through the vents in his cell. It sounded angry. He didn't know what to make of them. But he knew he couldn't stay in that place for much longer. The walls practically leaked madness. He could feel it in the air he breathed, he could taste it in the food, he smelt it too. It was intoxicating, poison in the water. He could feel the madness whisper in his ears when he slept or sat alone. It called his name. It called Batman too. It called him to become like those he once fought. He would never go mad, he swore to himself as he heard the screams of the insane slice through the night air. He would never. He swore to God he would never.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Unraveling **

"Dr. Angela... Doctor... Angela... Angela."

Biyaka was lying on the floor of his cell on his back. He'd let his arms and legs bleed all over the floor and he'd bitten his inner cheeks so his mouth was full of his own and the guard's blood as he sucked at his fingers. His nose was bleeding from when he'd hit his head on the door. He spat blood into the air with each word.

"Biyaka?" Dr. Scott had been called in to deal with Biyaka, and so he talked through the slot in the door to the man inside the cell. "I'm going to come in and get you some help, okay?"

"I want Angela!" Biyaka suddenly flipped over onto his hands and knees. "You're gonna give me drugs! You're a lying asshole, Doctor!"

"Biyaka."

Biyaka crawled over to the door and reached through the slot, grabbing Dr. Scott's arm with bloody fingers.

"Biyaka, you won't see Dr. Angela if you hurt anyone else," Dr. Scott warned, hoping Biyaka would loosen his grip. He did. Dr. Scott took the opportunity to quickly grab onto Biyaka's wrist.

Biyaka let out an almost inhuman scream as a guard flung open the door, Biyaka held in place by his arm still through the slot. They put him quickly into restraints.

"Take him to the infirmary," Dr. Scott ordered. "Once his wounds have been treated, we'll work on recovering Armand."

"Yes sir." The guard dragged Biyaka off kicking and screaming.

"Fuck you, Doctor! Fuck you all!"

(MB,BB)

"Doctor?" Agarwaen's eyes opened in the dark cell. He knew he wasn't supposed to be awake, but then was no time for sleeping. He was getting out of there. He had a plan. "Doctor?"

The doctor who was in charge of Agarwaen that night came in. "What is it?"

"Can I come down?" Agarwaen was trying his best to sound innocent.

"I'm afraid not," the doctor relied. "You're not allowed. You know that."

"But it hurts." Agarwaen whined like a beaten dog. He felt funny when he faked such emotions, but he liked the trickery all the same. He did his best to look upset. "What he did to me... I don't wanna be in this room anymore! I can still smell him!" Agarwaen laughed wildly in his mind at how pathetic he could sound if he wanted to.

"Well, I'll have to consult Dr. Scott about moving you first," the doctor said.

"But I can't stay here any longer!" Agarwaen's eyes became watery with crocodile tears. "I can't stay here! Please! Can I just walk around a little?"

"Well, I don't think I should." The doctor was unsure of what to do next. Agarwaen's tears had fooled him. "Are you sure you can't be moved tomorrow?"

"I'm sure," Agarwaen sniffed. He was good, he thought. Really good.

"Oh alright."

The doctor approached the man on the wall. He loosened the straps that held Agarwaen until one arm was free. That was all Agarwaen needed. He grabbed the doctor's head and slammed it into the wall. The doctor fell to the floor unconscious. Agarwaen undid the rest of his restraints with his free hand. He dropped to the floor and ran out the still open door.

"I win!" He shouted as he ran down the hall.

(MB,BB)

Bruce looked down the hall outside his room. He was sure someone was coming, even though he couldn't hear anyone yet. He could sense it. But he still had no idea who it could be.

"Hello?" Bruce called into the hallway.

"Hello." Biyaka peered around the corner and grinned as he spotted Bruce's eyes through the slot in his door. "Batman." Biyaka stepped into the corridor and moved silently to Bruce's door. "I remember you."

"What are you talking about?" Bruce didn't like the new guy at all. He looked like the young man he'd talked to before, but his tone and expression were all wrong. It was obviously someone else.

'I should have known he was weird,' Bruce thought. 'He's in here for a reason.'

"Batman the billionaire." Biyaka stared at Bruce with shining eyes. "It was all over the news. I saw it all."

"So what do you want?" Bruce growled impatiently. "You want something, right?"

"Yes sir-ee, Bat-Billionaire." Biyaka pulled something out of his pocket and held it u for Bruce to see. It was a ring of keys, bloody from Biyaka's hands. "Time to come out."

"Are you letting me out?"

"Yeah. The way I see it, neither of us really belong in here, do we?" Biyaka jammed different keys into the lock and tried ti turn them. It took him a while to find the right one. "What the fuck? Goddamn keys!"

"What are you planning on doing?" Bruce asked.

"You know that Joker guy?" Biyaka opened the door of the cell and tossed the keys in. Bruce caught them. "I'm gonna kill 'im. I'm burnin' the house down, so to speak."

"So why let me out? What do I have to do with it?" Bruce stepped tentatively out into the hallway with Biyaka.

"Seeing as you're the only real hero in this goddamn city," Biyaka said, "And as I said, you don't belong here, I thought you'd rather be out there than in here when I burn the place down."

"You're saving me?" Bruce asked.

"I guess so." Biyaka shut the door behind Bruce. "Now run like fuck, Batman. I'm about to activate the lock-down system."

Bruce turned and ran from the psychopath. He usually never ran from a conflict, but he knew about the lock-down system. The windows would be blocked, the exits shut, and no one would be getting out or in. Bruce may have trained for years to become Batman, but no amount of training allowed him to break through steel with his bare fists. He wasn't Superman. He had to get the hell out of there. But just before he left the level, he turned back to Biyaka and asked, "If you don't belong here, then where do you belong?"

"In Hell, where else?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The End**

Biyaka stood in the main hall, looking at the high, water-stained walls. The clanking of the steel shields that covered all the exits finally died down. All of them were trapped inside. No one would be getting out.

"If water can't destroy you," Biyaka mused, "maybe fire can."

He left the hall and made his way to the kitchens.

(MB,BB)

"Armand!" Agarwaen's voice rang through the halls.

He could hear the panicked voices of the residents and staff of the asylum as they slammed and kicked the steel that kept them all prisoners. They didn't even care that he was free. They just wanted to get out.

"Oh God no." Agarwaen knew it was wrong. Nurses and guards had already trampled at least two of their own in the frenzy to get free. It was bad.

"Armand!" Agarwaen ran to the stairs as quickly as possible. In his haste, he tripped on his own feet and fell down a flight of stairs. "Fuck!"

(MB,BB)

Harley awoke in the infirmary only to find that she was alone. Well, not really alone, but she was definitely the only one _alive_ in the ward. Nurses and guards, their bodies slashed and bloody, lay strewn all over the floors. Harley only took a moment to look at them though, because another commotion was underway. The she-clown could hear the shrieks of the staff of Arkham, all looking at the blocked windows in despair, running around like headless chickens, screaming like banshees in their efforts to escape. Normally, Harley would get a kick out of their behavior, but as she looked at the three windows in the infirmary and saw their new metal covers over the colored glass, she knew that it was not time for fun. She was in the same boat as the staff and other inmates. She took deep breath, trying to keep her cool. Trying to stay calm. But it was hard to focus with all the screams of the trapped.

'I should at least find Mr. J," she thought, and quickly jumped out of her hospital bed. She ran to the door and scurried past the panicking nurses and made a dive for the stairs.

"What the fuck?" Agarwaen cried out as Harley stepped on his fingers by mistake. "Why'd you do that?"

"Oh, it's you." Harley stopped at the landing where Agarwaen had fallen down to. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Trying to find my legs, obviously," Agarwaen hissed. "I guess I'll just take yours!"

"Hey!" Harley cried out as Agarwaen's arms wrapped around her legs, causing her to fall forward onto the stairs going down. "Ow!" She howled as her forehead made contact with a cement step.

Agarwaen let go of her legs and grabbed onto the railing. He hauled himself onto his feet, but when he tried to stand on his own, he winced and quickly grabbed the railing again. "Fuck!"

"You son of a bitch!" Harley shook her head and sat up on the stairs. She reached for Agarwaen's arms as he moved as fast as he could away from her down the stairs.

She grabbed the railing and followed him. She caught up and held onto his wrist in a death-grip. Agarwaen tried to fling her down the stairs by swinging the arm that she held, but he didn't let go, and the force sent them both tumbling down to the next landing. Agarwaen made for the door on the landing, but Harley grabbed his ankle and held fast. Agarwaen kicked at her with his other foot, but it hurt too much and he let go of the door's handle to hit her in the head. Harley pulled Agarwaen away from the door and tried to hurl him down the stairs, but he grabbed he red pigtail and pulled her down with him. As she hit the bottom of the stairs, Harley fell unconscious. Agarwaen dragged his injured legs across the floor to the door to the basement.

"Armand!" Agarwaen reached for the metal doorknob and turned it, pushing the heavy door open. "Armand!"

Agarwaen stopped. He was in the middle of the floor, but he couldn't feel his arms anymore. "Fuck! Armand!"

Agarwaen fell to the floor. His forehead hit the cement, but he didn't pass out. He gasped into the cold floor. "No, I'm not going to die like this!"

He tried to move, but not even a finger would budge. "Armand! Are you there? Armand!" He cried out into the floor. "I'm sorry! Armand, help me!"

No one answered for a long time. He almost gave up all hope when a familiar voice came to his ears. But it wasn't the voice he'd wanted to hear.

"Well, we've been up to no good, haven't we?"

(MB,BB)

On level B1, the entire kitchen was in flames. Biyaka had used a simple kitchen match, but it had done its job. He grabbed a knife from the floor. It was the one he'd used to slaughter the cooks and anyone else who'd gotten in his way. He broke off a table leg and lit it. The upper floors were next.

(MB,BB)

The Joker had heard the pandemonium of the staff and quickly left his little cell. He stepped into the hallway and saw a group of nurses and guards clammering at each window, all of which were covered in a new metal barrier. He'd moved past them, thinking the situation through as he moved to the stairs. There was a garage in the lower basement. If he could somehow get the garage door open, he could escape the lock-down. He took the stairs two at a time. He had to get down there before something worse happened.

Everyone who knew a thing or two about Arkham knew that lock-down meant trouble, big trouble. The Joker had been through a lock-down before, but that lock-down had been different. It had been planned. He knew the current lock-down would be the final one, the one that determined the fate of Arkham and its residents.

Then things began to happen in earnest. Then full-on madness settled in.

When the Joker reached the bottom of the stairs, he found Harley out cold on the floor.

"Hmm." The Joker had no time to waste on the weak. If Harley couldn't get her butt in gear, he wasn't going to drag her along. She was dead weight, useless. She'd gotten herself into that mess, and if she wanted to get out of it alive, she'd have to do it herself.

The Joker grabbed hold of the handle and gingerly stepped over Harley to get through the basement door. He was about to begin a fast-paced walk to the garage, when he spotted someone on the floor in front of him. The white hair gave him away. It was Agarwaen.

"Well, we've been up to no good, haven't we?" The Joker grinned as he stalked up behind Agarwaen, who couldn't even turn to look at the clown.

"Oh, fuck." Agarwaen knew it wasn't goo, not at all.

"How's my little traitor doing?" The Joker laughed. "Did you get a little boo-boo? Aw, that's too bad."

Agarwaen closed his eyes. He could sense what was coming.

"Let me take care of that for you!" The Joker has reached the helpless Agarwaen and lifted his foot up before bringing his heel down hard on Agarwaen's back. There was a crack. Blood splattered from Agarwaen's mouth, but it took two more blows for Agarwaen to fall still.

"Ha!" The Joker bent down and picked up Agarwaen's head in his hands. "You don't look so good, Aggy. Maybe you should lay down!" He dropped Agarwaen's head back down and laughed.

The Joker stood up and kicked Agarwaen in the side. He was too focused on the still body to notice the figure that appeared in the large room, holding a knife.

Biyaka saw the Joker kicking Agarwaen's body on the floor, laughing at his handiwork, just like a clown. Biyaka's eyes narrowed. He may have been a right bastard, but Biyaka didn't like how the Joker was treating Agarwaen. Kicking a man when he's down. Biyaka believed that you should leave the down alone. When he saw the Joker continue to play around with his victim, he thought maybe the Joker should feel how it felt to be a victim.

Biyaka moved quietly forward, still having the element of surprise on his side. He got within throwing distance of the Joker without the clown noticing. The Joker suddenly heard something and looked up just in time to see the knife come at him. He barely had time to react before the knife embedded itself in his belly. The clown fell to his knees next to Agarwaen.

"You!" The Joker grabbed the hilt of the knife and ripped it out of his belly. "It was you!"

"That's right, clown." Biyaka stepped forward until he stood in front of the Joker. "And now it's time for you to die."

The Joker swung at Biyaka with the knife, but the younger man dodged and punched the clown in the face. The Joker fell forward and Biyaka grabbed the knife from his hand. He stabbed the clown in the back. The Joker gasped, but then fell still.

Biyaka calmly walked back to his cell.

Within moments, the whole building was on fire. The fire had spread to the upper levels, moving higher and higher as Biyaka had planned. It spread death and destruction as it consumed all in its path.

(MB,BB)

Armand slammed the steel door of his cell behind him, hoping it would offer him at least a little protection from the unforgiving flames, but he knew it wouldn't do much good as smoke came through the slot in the door. He heard the ceiling screaming as the fire spread over the upper levels. He curled up on the small cot as he covered his ears. He didn't want to hear the screaming anymore. He'd expected his death, but he couldn't have expected theirs. He hoped the good guy had gotten out. The good guy was the city's only hope.

"Help the people, Bat Guy." Armand told the air, just before everything went black.

(MB,BB)

Bruce stood by the rusty red basin and stared with horror at the house as it fell to the ground in flames. He knew no one got out, but he knew he had escaped that fate for a reason. He had to be the hero. He couldn't let a place like Arkham, a mere old house, keep him away from his duty to Gotham.

Biyaka had saved Bruce from the madness and saved the others that were too far gone. He'd known his purpose and he'd known Bruce's. Arkham was meant to be destroyed and Bruce was meant to survive to make sure it never happened again.

**The End for now.**

**AN: This is a slightly modified version of Monsters... and anyone who read the original will know that there was a change to the ending. I'm planning on writing a sequel to this story, so I left a lot of loose ends. I hope to be starting the sequel soon. I have some ideas, but no solid sequel idea. Any suggestions are welcome. :)**


End file.
